Caught Sitting in a Tree
by WindyCity96
Summary: (Part 6 of the Romanogers Soulmate Series) Steve and Natasha have been acting strange. Clint and Tony want to know why.


Steve Rogers was a stoic man. Born and raised in the 1920s, the first Avenger was the epitome of controlled and reserved emotion. At least, he used to be.

Ever since he and Natasha had returned from their search for Bucky Barnes, Steve had been a changed man. He was always smiling. Quicker to laugh. And spent hours a day getting reacquainted with New York City. Truly, Captain America was waltzing on air. And it was driving Tony Stark insane.

It wasn't so much the captain's new attitude that bothered Tony, as much the non-stop rat pack music Steve had been playing for the past two weeks. Tony had found a bunch of his father's old records in storage and thought the soldier might want them. A mistake the billionaire quickly began to regret. If it wasn't for the glorious invention of noise-cancelling headphones, Tony would've vaporized Steve and his records ages ago. The robotics genius sat alone in his lab in Avengers Tower that morning, working on some of the details for the Veronica armor, when he heard a sound that made him cringe.

_"How lucky can one guy be? I kissed her and she kissed me. Like a fella once said, ain't that a kick in the head?"_

He was singing. Captain America was singing. Terrific.

"Tony Stark!" As if on cue, the super soldier appeared in the doorway of the lab, his cheeks flushed from his morning run and his face set in a massive smile that belonged in a cheesy black and white musical. "Just the man I wanted to see."

Times like these, Tony wished he could just punch Steve right in his teeth. "What do you want, Cap?"

"A favor," Steve answered, causing Tony to raise an eyebrow "The New York ballet company is performing _Swan Lake _this week and I need a pair of tickets to next week's show."

"Since when do you like the ballet?"

"I don't. But my girl's birthday's coming up and used to dance so I wanted to-," Steve cut himself off when her realized what he just said "Oops."

"Oh my God," Tony's eyes widened in disbelief "That's why you've been so happy go lucky these past few weeks. You finally got laid!"

Steve raised a confused eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"So," the Iron Avenger leaned back in his chair as he asked "who's the lucky girl that gets to knock boots with Captain America?"

"Knock boots?"

"Yeah. It means having sex."

_SMACK!_

Tony's head whipped to the side as the soldier struck him clean across the face. "Did you just slap me?"

"Don't you ever say that again!" Steve threatened "My darling's not one of those loose dames you ran around with before Pepper straightened you out."

"Alright, alright. Sorry," Tony apologized, rubbing his sore jaw "Forgot that you were Captain squeaky clean for a minute there. So who is this ballet girl anyway?"

"Oh, no. You've gotten enough out of me already. My darling and I both agreed to keep our relationship private."

"Oh come on," Tony pleaded "We stop an alien invasion together but you won't let me meet your girlfriend?"

"Tony," Steve gave his friend a sincere look "When we're ready to tell people, I promise you'll be the first to know."

* * *

Natasha Romanoff looked up from her morning coffee as Clint Barton walked into the kitchen, holding a bouquet of roses. "From Tony to Pepper?" she assumed.

"To you," the archer corrected, setting the flowers down in front of her "from your latest schmuck."

Natasha had been seducing a mark ever since she got back to the states with Steve. Clint offered to back her up whenever she went out to meet him, but Natasha always declined. Said he was perfectly harmless.

Natasha smiled as she took out her phone, dialing the mystery man's number. "Good morning, sweetheart."

Clint stayed silent as he made himself a cup of coffee, raising an eyebrow as he listened in on Natasha's conversation. Interesting, she was using Russian accent.

"Thank you for the flowers. They're beautiful."

Clint watched Natasha curiously as she let out a laugh, bringing a hand to her hair and twirling it in her fingers. He had seen the Black Widow lure plenty of men into her clutches before. But something about this was...different.

"And by the way, the answer's yes." Natasha informed, her smile widening as she read the card on the front of the bouquet "I'll see you tonight," she promised, hanging up the phone. "I'm going to put these in some water," she decided. And without another word, the Black Widow picked up the roses and walked out.

Clint was really confused now. Natasha never kept any of the presents her marks gave her. If they gave her flowers and candy, she'd throw them out. If she got clothes or jewels, she'd keep them just until the job was done, then sell them and donate the money to charity. Then there was her attitude when her "sweetheart" answered her call. Natasha never smiled when she was on the phone with a mark. And yet, she had acted as if the man was in the room with her. Then there was her accent. Natasha hated her Russian accent. Even though it was tool for her trade, Natasha always avoided using her native accent as much as possible, as it reminded her too much of her past. And yet, she kept using it even after she hung up the phone. She didn't even notice.

There was only one explanation. The mark wasn't a mark. Natasha had a boyfriend.

* * *

Natasha stood alone to her room as she placed her flowers in a vase and set it on the windowsill by her bed, her lips slipping into a small smirk as she felt an icy chill run down her back. "Couldn't stay away, could you Rogers?"

"No ma'am." Steve smiled as he walked into the spy's room, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and nuzzling his face in the crook of her neck "I got cold."

"Aw. My poor sweetheart," Natasha smiled as she turned around to face her soulmate, letting her Russian accent slip through "Let me help with that."

Steve's heart raced as she pressed her lips against his, a gentle warmth spreading over him. Natasha's skin became covered in goosebumps as Steve kissed her back with equal measure, the breath in her lungs slowly starting to freeze over.

Eventually, the two soulmates pulled away from each other, with racing hearts and gasping lungs.

"Flowers, dinner, kisses," Natasha listed off "Not that I don't love all the attention, but you do know that my birthday is next week, right?"

"I do," Steve confirmed, playing with her hair "Which is I'm planning something extra special for next week."

"Ooh. Do tell," Natasha purred.

"No ma'am. It's a surprise. And you can't make me talk."

"Wanna bet?" Natasha's eyes shined with a mischievous light as she leaned in close, whispering lustfully into Steve's ear "Do you know why they call me the Black Widow, sweetheart? Because I know how to lure men into my grasp," she answered "make them give me everything I want. What makes you think that I can't wrap you around my finger?"

"Because then you'd have to risk letting everyone in the tower find out about us," Steve answered. They had been sneaking around ever since they had gotten back from Europe. And while Steve was more than willing to tell the world that they were spies, Natasha was still reluctant.

The Black Widow gave her sweetheart an impressed expression. "I've taught you well."

"High praise." Steve smiled as he walked out the door, reluctantly letting his hand slip out of hers "I'll see you tonight."

* * *

Clint could not believe he was doing this. So Natasha had a boyfriend. So what? Clint had a wife and kids the other Avengers didn't even know about. Who was he to judge if Natasha wanted to keep her private life private? If Clint's best friend wasn't ready to tell anyone about her new boyfriend, then he should respect that. So why was he snooping around in Natasha's room?

After the Black Widow headed off for her afternoon training session, the archer slipped his way into his best friend's bedroom, looking for any sign of Natasha's secret sweetheart. A picture, a gift, a note, anything. Dear God, why was he doing this?

_Because in all the years you've known Natasha, you have never seen her go on a real date with anyone, _he thought.

Despite being one the best people Clint had ever known, Natasha was also one of the most self-loathing. The former KGB agent always believed she deserved to be punished, for all the death that Red Room made her spread across the world. Until something, some_one _convinced her that she deserved a chance to be happy. Part of Clint wanted to meet this man just so he could thank him for convincing Natasha to build a life for herself. Another part of him wanted to make sure this guy wasn't a sex-crazed pervert or an enemy spy trying to take down the Black Widow. Because if that were true, somebody was getting an arrow in his eye.

The SHIELD veteran started his search with Natasha's bedside table, picking his way through the lock on the top drawer. Inside, Clint found a loaded gun, a pair of Widow's bite gauntlets, half a dozen fake passports, five hundred dollars in various forms of currency, and a stack of letters, dating back to Natasha's time in Washington D.C, each one of them addressed: _To Natasha. My darling, my soulmate_.

Soulmate? No wonder Natasha laughed like a schoolgirl when this guy picked up the phone. Clint shouldn't read these letters. They were private. Extremely private. If the universe had matched Natasha with this guy, who was he to judge? It matched Clint with Laura. Then again, the universe also put Pepper Potts with Tony Stark. That's when Clint open the letters. Only they weren't really letters at all.

They were drawings. Sketches. Mostly of Natasha. Clint tilted his head as he inspected one of the pictures, this one of a beautiful sunset, with the Black Widow's face etched into the scarlet-tinted sun of twilight, the words _"This is what I see when I look at you," _written on the bottom of the page. Strange. There was something familiar about the artist's style.

As Clint placed the letters back in the drawer, he found the one that came attached to the roses that had been delivered, opening it to reveal a drawing of a restaurant in little Italy and a question written underneath: _Dinner at seven?_

* * *

Tony was going to figure out who Cap's girlfriend was even if it killed him. After that slap, Tony owed Steve a serious moment of embarrassment. And what better way than to crash the captain's latest date? Besides, Tony needed to know, who in their right mind would want to date a ninety year-old man in a thirty year-old's body?

_Somebody with serious daddy issues, _Tony thought. The billionaire genius sat alone in his room, looking over all of the data he had cloned from Steve's phone before he left the lab. Tony had to admit, the captain had adapted to modern life fairly well. Last time all the Avengers were in New York, Steve could barely work a flip phone. Now he was texting and streaming music. Whoever this Darling was, she had a big impact on Steve embracing modern life. After remembering how Steve used to keep a journal of all the things he'd missed while frozen in the ice, Tony decided to take a look at the info cloned from Steve's memo app, where he found a series of lists given to Steve by his new lady friend: _Darling's favorite music, Darling's favorite movies, Darling's favorite New York restaurants. _After looking over those lists alone, Tony could tell that this woman liked _James Bond _movies, listened to blues and classical music, and enjoyed food from across the world, though she seemed to have a soft spot for Eastern European bakeries. Only he still didn't have a clue what she looked like. Steve did not have a single picture of his girlfriend on his phone. Of course he didn't, Cap was an art student before the war. He probably had a sketchebook full of drawings of her somewhere in his room.

As he started to lose hope, Tony scrolled his way through Steve's contacts, looking for any new lady friends Steve might've made while away. After a few moments, Tony found a new contact saved under the name, _My Darling Soulmate, _with the picture of a sunset saved as the image ID. Time out. Soulmate? Now wonder Steve was singing all the time. Wait a minute, was Tony really willing to snoop through Steve's texts to his soulmate? Uh, yeah. The billionaire genius grinned like a scheming child as he began to dig his way through the texts, looking for anything that would tell him who the mysterious woman was. But Steve never addressed her by name, only by the endearing term of darling. But they had talked this morning.

_Steve: Don't get mad, but I think Tony might be onto us._

_My Darling Soulmate: What did you do?_

_Steve: I might've mentioned I had a girlfriend when I was asking for his help with a surprise for you._

_My Darling Soulmate: Ooh, would this be the birthday surprise I've heard so much about?_

_Steve: Don't try to change the subject. I talked to Tony. I don't think he'll be snooping into our lives anytime soon._

_Steve: Would it really be that bad if people found out about us? It's been three months._

Three months. Steve must've met this woman when right before he left Washington D.C.

_My Darling Soulmate: I don't want the world telling me what I already know._

_Steve: Tell you what?_

_My Darling Soulmate: That I don't deserve you._

_Steve: You know your past means nothing to me._

Past? What past? Why would Captain America get involved with a woman with a past?

_My Darling Soulmate: The world isn't as forgiving as you are sweetheart._

_My Darling Soulmate: Can we talk about this later? Please?_

_Steve: Okay. I'll see you at dinner._

Dinner? What perfect opportunity to catch Steve and his darling soulmate in the heat of the moment and ruin it. Tony quickly searched the cloned data for any information on the couple's dinner plans, grinning triumphantly as he found an email confirmation for a reservation at a restaurant in little Italy. Jackpot.

* * *

Clint was seriously starting to think he was losing his mind. It was bad enough he went through Natasha's room, now he was spying on her date? Did Loki give him brain damage?

The archer groaned as he brought a hand to the back of his neck as he stood outside the restaurant, trying to convince himself to just turn around and go back to the Tower. But he kept walking.

_"Just one little peek," _a little voice inside whispered as the archer walked in, scanning dimly lit tables for any sign of Natasha "_Just one little peek to make sure Natasha's safe." _If Clint could one look at this guy's face, he could run it through a database and make sure Natasha's soulmate wasn't a creep or a spy or,

"Tony?" Clint's eyes widened as he spotted the billionaire sitting at an outdoor table at the Italian restaurant, trying his best to be inconspicuous "What are you doing here?"

"Shh!" Tony hushed "I'm spying on Cap."

"Cap?" Clint's confusion only worsened as he spotted Steve sitting alone at a table, the soldier wearing a dark blue suit with a white dress shirt, a light blue tie and brown oxford shoes, nervously checking his watch every few seconds. "What's he doing here?"

"Waiting," Tony whispered, pulling Clint into the chair next to him "for his darling soulmate to arrive."

Clint's eyes widened. "Darling soulmate?"

Tony nodded. "He met her three months ago. And he's been sneaking around with her ever since he got back to New York."

Oh God. It all made sense. "Tony," Clint's voice became filled with dread as he insisted "We need to get out of here. Now."

"What? Why?"

Clint saw his chance to walk out unseen disappear as Natasha Romanoff walked in, wearing a jet black dress and heels, a genuine smile on her face. "That's why."

Tony's eyes widened in disbelief as he watched the Russian spy walk over to Steve's table, the soldier standing up from his seat and greeting her with a warm embrace. Right before he kissed her. "Oh my God. Are they?"

"Looks like it," Clint confirmed "Now let's get out of here."

"Are you kidding?" Tony's eyes lit up as he got up from his seat "This is better than I imagined."

"Tony. Tony!" Clint groaned as he watched the billionaire walk over to Steve and Natasha's table.

"Well, well, well." Iron Man smiled smugly as he stood over his friend's table, the two of them quickly turning red with embarrassment "What do we have here? A soldier and a spy, sitting in a tree."

"I thought you said you handled him," Natasha whispered.

Steve sighed. "I thought I had."

"Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff are soulmates." Tony let out a laugh "This is too good."

"How did you know we were soulmates? And how did you find us?" Steve added.

"I cloned your phone," Tony answered without a hint of remorse, pulling a chair from one of the empty tables before sitting between Steve and Natasha. "Guess I should thank your darling for teaching you how to use a cell," he commented, giving Natasha a grin "Otherwise, I never would've gotten a chance to meet the happy couple."

The Black Widow resisted the urge to stab her teammate with her butter knife as he helped himself to the breadsticks on the table.

"You got to admit, you two are a bit of an odd couple," Tony commented "America's golden boy and a former KGB spy? So were you two really looking for Barnes these past three months or were you just taking a romantic trip across Europe?"

As Steve and Natasha hung their heads in embarrassment, Clint walked over and placed a hand on the billionaire's shoulder. "Alright Tony, you've had your fun."

Steve could not believe this. "Not you too."

"For the record, I am not with him," the archer clarified "I just stumbled onto this from an different angle."

"The roses," Natasha realized.

Clint nodded. "You seemed a little too happy to get flowers from a mark."

"So you decided to crash my date?" Natasha leaned back in her seat as she asked. "You don't think I handle myself?"

"Of course not."

"So why are you here?"

"I temporarily lost all sense of reason. Look, we're sorry we interrupted your date," Clint apologized "We'll get out of your hair."

"Speak for yourself. I still got questions for these two owww!" Tony let out a cry of pain as Clint tightened his grip on his shoulder, causing the billionaire's knees to wobble.

"Cap, did you have anything planned for Natasha's birthday next week?" Clint asked.

"I wanted to surprise her with tickets to _Swan Lake._" Steve said with a sigh "emphasis on the word surprise."

"Well to show you just how sorry he is for, Tony is going to get you those tickets." Clint tightened his grip on the billionaire's shoulder "Isn't that right, Tony?"

"Yep," Iron Man confirmed in a strained voice "Two tickets to _Swan Lake _on me. I'll even spring for a box."

"And champagne."

"And champagne," Tony repeated "a whole bottle. Nice and chilled. Anything I can do to make sure you two have a magical evening."

"Thank you Tony," Natasha said with a smirk "That's so thoughtful."

"No problem." The billionaire gasped as the archer finally gave him back his shoulder.

"Why don't you go get started on that?" Clint suggested.

"Right." And so, after making sure that his arm wasn't dislocated, Tony walked off.

Clint stayed silent for a moment as he stared at Steve, looking him straight in the eye as he revealed. "They wanted me to kill you."

"Who?"

"SHIELD. Pierce called me after you bolted with Fury's drive," Clint explained "Said you had gone rouge. I told him to shove it."

"Thanks?" Steve gave the archer a puzzled look as he asked "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because if you do not treat Natasha with the respect she deserves or if you hurt you in any way, I will put an arrow in your eye from ten miles away," Clint promised "and I don't miss. I'm going to have the bar send you a bottle of wine on my way out," he decided, seamlessly changing the subject "my treat." After a moment of silence, the archer turned around and gave a Natasha a glance out of the corner of his eye "I'm glad you're happy. " And he walked off, without saying another word.

"Did Clint really just threaten to kill me?" Steve asked.

"He certainly did," Natasha confirmed.

* * *

Steve and Natasha walked back into Avengers Tower late that night, their hands perfectly linked together as they tiptoed through the dark.

"Did you have a nice time tonight?" Steve asked.

"I did. Thank you."

Steve tilted his head as he stared at Natasha for a moment, the warmth of her soul suddenly feeling...off. "What's wrong?"

The Russian spy felt a hint of a smile tug at her lips as she realized just how quickly Steve was learning how to read her. "What Tony said, about us being an odd couple, he's right. I know you don't care about my past," Natasha acknowledged "but I do. It's hard enough convincing myself that I deserve you. I don't think I could handle the world telling me that too."

Steve gave Natasha's hand a gentle squeeze, wishing he knew how to make her see herself the way he saw her.

"Hey."

The two soulmates pulled away from each other as Tony Stark appeared, holding a white envelope in his hand. "Been waiting for you two. Here."

Steve tilted his head the billionaire handed him the envelope. "What is it?"

"Two private box tickets to _Swan Lake. _The champagne will be waiting for you when you get there and I threw in a horse carriage for the whole night," Tony added "Figured Cap might want some old-fashioned transportation. Look, I'm sorry if things a little too far at the restaurant," he apologized "For what it's worth, I'm glad you two are together. Makes perfect sense."

Natasha raised an eyebrow at the sincerity in his voice "How?"

"Because you guys are two of the best people I know. I've never met anyone more dedicated to helping people as you two are. And you both deserve someone good to come home to. Just do me a favor?" Tony requested "When you two make it to the...hanky-panky stage of the relationship, keep it in your rooms."


End file.
